john mccain seized on hagel's vocal opposition to the surge of troops in iraq in 2007. >> the question, senator hagel, the question is, were you right or wrong. that's a pretty straightforward question. >> well, i'm not going to give you a yes or no answer. >> reporter: hagel knew he who damage control to do. >> i should have used another term, and i'm sorry. >> reporter: over his 2008 comments related to israel that a, quote, jewish lobby intimidates a lot of people in congress. >> name one person, in your opinion, who is intimidated by the israeli lobby in the united states senate. >> well, first -- >> name one. >> i don't know. >> reporter: outside the hearing, senators of both parties were critical. >> i'm going to be candid. i think that chuck hagel is much more comfortable asking questions than answering them. >> i don't think it's going very well. >> reporter: hagel was repeatedly pressed by both democrats and republicans to make clear his commitment to israel's security. >> i strongly support israel. >> reporter: and clarify his stand on iran. hagel had voted against declaring